Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 320: The King of Joseon's Plea
"The King of Korea, Li Hui, pays homage to the Three Talents of the Celestial Empire. Seeing the great men of the Celestial Empire, I know that the Celestial Empire has not abandoned Korea~ woooooo~~~"
"Oh, Your Majesty, you have wronged me. Why do you have to do this? Please stand up quickly."
On May 10, 1617, Li Sancai, Du Song, Xiao Bozhi and others led 30,000 Liaozhen troops and 10,000 Jurchen coalition forces to the north bank of the Yalu River and began to build fortresses and other defensive fortifications on the spot.
The current King of Korea, Li Hui, who arrived at the south bank of the Yalu River at lightning speed in early May, was immediately anxious when he saw the Liaozhen soldiers on the other side of the river actually did such a thing. So, he ignored even the most basic diplomatic etiquette and directly crossed the Yalu River. When he met the current Liaodong Governor Li Sancai, he simply paid a solemn visit. Even Li Sancai, who was so thick-skinned, felt a little overwhelmed by such an attitude.
In the historical plane, Yi Hui was considered to be the most ruthless king of Joseon: after he succeeded to the throne, he killed several of his brothers and imprisoned the Queen Mother of the previous king. Facing the rise of the Later Jin, he pursued a neutral diplomacy: Ming and Jin, you guys go fight on your own, we Joseon are small, so we won't get involved.
From the perspective of the Koreans, Li Hui's choice was undoubtedly correct. However, at that time, the gratitude of the Koreans towards the Ming Dynasty was extremely strong, and his actions aroused resentment throughout the country. In the end, he was abolished by his own ministers...
Although Korea later changed its national policy and stood on the side of Ming Dynasty, and was repeatedly taught a lesson Dynasty, Korea once again recognized the "wisdom" of this king. But once he was deposed, he was deposed. Therefore, this Li Hui had no temple name or posthumous title in history. He only had the title of "Gwanghaegun".
"Prime Minister Li, I wonder why the Celestial Empire's army has stopped at Jiangbei? Why don't they cross the river to the south and destroy those Japanese pirates?"
"Oh, my lord, I am now the governor of Liaodong, and I am not worthy of being called your husband."
"Otherwise, Li Xiang was once the Prime Minister of the Celestial Empire. How could he not be worthy of the title of Prime Minister? Li Xiang, why did the Celestial Empire's army stop here?"
Seeing Li Hui insisting on this question, Li Sancai was a little annoyed. However, in theory, the other party was a foreign vassal king who was half a level higher than many of the royal vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. So, no matter how unhappy he was, he had to continue to pretend to be nice.
"Ahem, has the king heard about this? This time, while the Japanese pirates invaded Korea, Siam in the south directly sent a large army to invade our Ming mainland."
"Ah? There is such a thing? How dare Siam invade the mainland of China? It is like an ant trying to shake a tree and overestimating its own capabilities!"
After saying this, Li Hui's eyes turned and said, "This tiny country is even worse than Korea! Once the heavenly soldiers arrive, I'm afraid it will be immediately wiped out. Li Xiang, more than 20 years ago, the Celestial Empire helped our country fight against the Japanese pirates while easily suppressing the rebellions in Bozhou and Ningxia. It's really easy to do it with both hands!"
My Great Ming attacked from all sides, but it emptied the treasury that Zhang Taiyue had spent ten years to accumulate! Especially you, Korea, spent seven million taels of silver! Tens of thousands of soldiers died! Not a penny was taken!
Li Sancai complained viciously in his heart, but still smiled on his face, saying, "Your Majesty probably underestimated Siam. Apart from other things, Siam has ten elite soldiers similar to our Ming Dynasty's Henghai Guard. We still need to be cautious when dealing with such brave bandits."
"Well... With the might of the Celestial Empire, even if this ant is a little stronger, it is still just an ant. Prime Minister Li, this Japanese pirate..."
"Hmm~~ How about this Japanese pirate?"
"Prime Minister Lee... wuwuwu... The little king is incompetent, and Korea is poor and weak. Facing such a vicious bandit, our country is really powerless to resist. In the past month, although our soldiers have fought bravely, Korea has lost five of the eight provinces."
Where did you put up a brave resistance? The report submitted to me by the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty clearly stated that the defenders in various parts of Korea generally fled without fighting and did not put up any resistance to the Japanese pirates. Now, the only thing that can restrain the speed of the Japanese army's advance is their logistical support and the mountainous terrain of Korea!
Ah, speaking of which, the report of the Imperial Guards also clearly stated: This time, Japan paid great attention to military discipline during its invasion of Korea. It didn't harm the local people, but the overall relationship between the army (the invading army) and the people was quite good. Even if some of the Japanese pirates' vanguard troops ran out of food, they were guided by the local Korean people to capture the manors of the local wealthy families. After taking over the manors and moving out the food, in addition to the Japanese pirates' own military use, they also took out a considerable portion to help the local people... Hey! This time, the Japanese pirates were much smarter than those twenty years ago.
"Hey, Your Majesty, I'm not criticizing you. Korea is known as a land of 3,000 miles from north to south. It's only been a month, and you've lost five of the eight provinces? This is even faster than 20 years ago."
"My young king, I am ashamed. Compared with the previous king of my country, I am indeed lacking in talent and virtue..."
Humph, your former king was called Yi Sun, right? He was beaten to a pulp by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army. But when the Ming Dynasty helped you drive away the Japanese pirates, you praised him as a hero who restored the country. Not only is his temple name "Zu", but his posthumous name is 36 characters long. It's so shameless!
"Prime Minister Li, I am incompetent and cannot protect the people of Korea. Prime Minister Li, please take into consideration that Korea has always been respectful to the Celestial Empire and has always regarded the Celestial Empire as its parent country. Please lead the army across the river as soon as possible to wipe out the Japanese pirates and save Korea from the dire situation!"
"Haha~" Li Sancai smiled slightly: "Don't worry, my king, I understand."
"Prime Minister Li, could you give me some definite information?"
"Ah? Oh, that's hard to say. Well, General Du, you have the final say on leading the troops to fight. Tell the king, when can we cross the river? "
"Hahaha~" Du Song, with a face full of flesh, stepped forward and said, "Please give me some more time, my king. My soldiers haven't prepared their clothes, weapons, ammunition, and food yet. If we force our way across the river now, wouldn't that mean we don't take the lives of our Ming soldiers seriously? I am a leader, and I may not love my soldiers like my own sons, but I will never let my sons and daughters die in vain. Your Majesty, don't you think this makes sense? Hmm~!"
This murderous "hmm" really frightened Li Hui. He took a step back unconsciously, and a few cold sweats appeared on his forehead: "Well, Marshal, you are right, absolutely right."
After watching Li Hui board the boat with the help of his attendants and cross the river, Li Sancai turned to several generals and said, "Everyone, although the State Council has already decided on the national policy, our dynasty will go south first and then east to face the two jumping clowns of Siam and Japan. His Highness has even issued a strict order that without his order, our army cannot cross the Yalu River. But looking at the situation in North Korea, it is possible that they will lose all eight provinces before our dynasty repel Siam. Therefore, we have to be prepared for the Japanese pirates to go crazy and attack us directly."
"Zhijun is right."
"Commander Du, how is our army's combat readiness now?"
"General, this time I am sending 30,000 soldiers from Liaozhen, all of whom are veterans who participated in the Battle of Sarhu. All weapons have been replaced, and the clothes are new clothes issued by the Crown Prince five years ago. In addition, after the Crown Prince issued the order to strictly guard the Yalu River, the Ministry of Works also sent 5,000 flintlock rifles and 2 million fixed-charge projectiles. Not only has the Ministry of Revenue not been short of military pay in these years, this time it has also sent 200,000 yuan in advance as a travel fee. Therefore, General, no matter whether it is armaments or morale, you don't have to worry."
"Hmm..." Li Sancai looked at the vast Yalu River, stroked his beard and said, "I have discussed this with the cabinet again, and finally both Fang and Wen agreed to consult the Crown Prince and coordinate with relevant departments. Send us another 5,000 muskets, 3 million ammunition, and 50 105mm cannons. In addition, five years ago, the Crown Prince conquered Jianzhou in winter, and the soldiers were given winter clothes. It's May now, what's the point of wearing winter clothes? Now the cabinet has also agreed to send another 40,000 sets of summer clothes."
"Oh my! Zhijun is indeed worthy of being the Prime Minister. It's up to you to deal with the elders! However, 40,000 sets...ah, do we have to give new clothes to those barbarians of the Jurchens as well?"
"Ha~" After a light laugh, Li Sancai stretched out a finger and pointed at Du Song: "General Du, the Jurchens have at least sent out 10,000 soldiers. It's okay if we don't give them muskets and cannons, but it's too unreasonable not to give them a set of clothes. The crown prince used to say that if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it first."
"Yes, the advice given by the commander is correct."
"Well, speaking of which." Li Sancai turned back and said, "Captain Luo, the Jurchens are not our own army. You Jinyiwei have to keep a close eye on them."
"Yes, please rest assured!"
